


Missing Piece

by fangirlingtodeath513



Series: Writers of Destiel Challenges [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Brief mentions of torture, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Mentions of hell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2020-01-31 12:07:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18590971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirlingtodeath513/pseuds/fangirlingtodeath513
Summary: Castiel and his garrison are given the assignment to rescue the Righteous Man from Hell.





	Missing Piece

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Writers of Destiel](https://writersofdestiel.tumblr.com/) Weekly Words prompt: missing piece.
> 
> Huge thank you to the lovely heylittleangel [(tumblr)](https://gii-heylittleangel.tumblr.com/)[(AO3)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/heylittleangel/pseuds/heylittleangel) for beta-editing this fic for me!

The journey into Hell is a long and difficult one. Castiel loses more than a few of his brethren along the way. They’ve given their lives for a worthy cause, of course, but Castiel still mourns their loss. He knows if he returns that he and his garrison will be handsomely rewarded for bringing the Righteous Man back to life, but at what cost? Is Dean Winchester’s life really worth the lives of so many angels?

 

Many garrisons have attempted this rescue before Castiel’s. Adriel’s garrison had been the first, and while they’d fought their way to the gates of Hell and left the burned-out husks of demons strewn behind them, they were quickly overwhelmed by the forces protecting the gates. They’d lost some of their best soldiers from Adriel’s garrison, and the few remaining had returned with singed wings and broken bodies. 

 

Next had been Raguel, who Michael had hand-picked for the mission. With his unique skill set, the ability to create lesser angels with nothing more than a few words of Enochian, Castiel is sure Michael had intended for Raguel and his team to overwhelm the demon masses guarding the door. They did, for the most part. The horde surrounding the gates was decimated, leaving only a few alive who quickly retreated into the depths of Hell. 

 

Zadkiel and a hand-picked team had been next, but they were unsuccessful. Dean Winchester’s soul was being kept in the depths of Hell where no angel could see it, no doubt an attempt to shield him from being rescued. No matter. Castiel had no problem seeing souls despite their resting place, which is why his garrison was chosen to find the soul of the Righteous Man and return him to Earth. 

 

It’s no easy feat. The number of souls spread out through Hell is nearly overwhelming, and Castiel finds himself squinting against the light even as he slashes his way through demons. Some souls have dimmed over time, twisted and blackened from their time in Hell. Others still remain as bright as the day they’d been tossed down there, still resisting the demons despite the futility of their actions. Castiel passes them all by with nothing but a mere wince of sympathy for them. If he had the opportunity, he’d rescue them all and return them to Heaven, but he has neither the authority nor the power. 

 

Two more of Castiel’s brethren are struck down behind him and Castiel finds himself face to face with Dean Winchester. Or, rather, Dean Winchester’s soul. He should’ve known this would be the Righteous Man. His soul is still blindingly bright despite his months there, despite the scars and soot of Hell attempting to discolor it. 

 

As he reaches for the soul of the Righteous Man, Castiel finds himself face-to-face with the very demon attempting to corrupt it. 

 

“He’s mine!” The demon snarls, plunging a jagged knife into the soul between them. He hears the Righteous Man cry out in pain, and then Castiel’s lunging at the demon in a blind fit of rage. How  _ dare _ this abhorrent pile of sulfur and fear attack the Righteous Man right in front of him? 

 

Before he can reach the demon, it’s disappeared. Vibrating with his anger, Castiel turns and scoops the terrified soul into his hands, cradling it close to his chest as he catapults toward the surface of the Earth.

 

The minute his fingers touch the fragile soul in his hands, everything Castiel has never known slots into place. It’s like his eyes were opened in that very moment, and he can feel the Righteous Man’s soul reaching for his grace. Almost instinctively, Castiel allows it, allows his grace to patch the slashes and burns in the fragile man while they travel. The more they interact, Castiel’s grace healing and soothing the wounded man, the fiercer Castiel’s instinct to protect him from anyone and anything trying to harm him. He knows Heaven’s plan, of course, and he knows Dean Winchester is needed for Lucifer to finally be defeated, but there’s something that Castiel can’t put his finger on,  _ something _ that makes him want to hide this warm, bright soul away from the prying eyes of angels and demons alike. 

 

It wouldn’t be until many years later, after battles fought side by side and their fair share of apocalyptic phenomena, that Castiel would learn the term for what he’d felt that day in Hell. 

 

Dean was the missing piece his grace—and now his very human soul—had been searching for in the many millennia of Castiel’s existence. It had taken the sacrifices of a number of angels before him, and the sacrifice of his own grace, but as Dean passes him a cup of coffee and presses a kiss to his temple, Castiel can’t summon an ounce of regret for any of it.

**Author's Note:**

> Find **this fic** on [Tumblr](https://fangirlingtodeath513.tumblr.com/post/184424548239/missing-piece-writersofdestiel-weekly-words) and [Pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.social/posts/615986)  
>   
> Find **me** on [Tumblr](https://fangirlingtodeath513.tumblr.com/) and [Pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.io/fangirlingtodeath513)  
>   
>  **Please don’t post my works anywhere without my permission.**


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